Pricey private K-12 school. Haves and have-lesses.*** Very bizarre stratification and a really…read morestrange range of teachers from top-notch excellent to worst of the worst. I attended this school in the 1980s, long before Yelp, but I still have some trauma/scarring from it, and I think that the administration needs to pay attention to things that it absolutely ignored back then. Rumor has it now that it doesn't, still, which is not atypical of education, but if admin can read this and do better, it should. Major emotional scarring can arise from attending school here as it was in the '80s. Best teachers: Mrs. Teal, Mr. Gratwick, the two French teachers and one French/Latin (Mrs. Mensch (sp?), art teachers Bay and Rosser. Worst teachers: Mr. Eldridge, Mrs. Teller, DiMaria/DeMarea (?), and Ms. McFadden, who was more into breeding dogs for a living than teaching 5th grade.* Questionable: Eisen (English), Harper (math), the creepy young science teacher Scott something.** The music teacher was good, but I was still a Jew who had to sing Christmas songs year after year. *Eldridge was a social climber who was more interested in hobnobbing with rich people than he was children's educations and yet somehow was middle school principal. When I was nearsighted and couldn't see the chalkboard he called me an airhead in front of other kids. Never considered that I literally couldn't see the board, and at age 10, I didn't know either! Dog breeder McFadden, same. Not attuned enough to think about eyesight as factor. DeMarea (?) was the crappy English teacher for 7th and 8th who said, "You want to start a new thought? Start a new paragraph." I learned everything I know today about writing from the public high school I attended with better teachers when I left Barstow. **Eisen was brilliant and a great teacher, and I learned a ton from her, but her disciplinarian ways were intense, and she literally taped some kids' mouths shut. They were terrible pompous kids who technically deserved it, but even for the '80s this was draconian. Mr. Harper was a great math teacher, but I was gifted in math, and because I picked up algebra, etc. from self-teaching and never had to "study" (who needs to study algebra? you get it or you don't; you solve for x) he told all the other kids, in front of me, that I was lying when I said I didn't study. WTAF? Not that it would have been okay if he told them behind my back. But REALLY?! Algebra is formulas. You don't need to "study" algebra. Once you click the formulas you're done. 20+ years later when I was taking the GRE, I had to re-teach myself algebra, and I did. It's not a daily-study memorization thing. Telling other kids I'm lying because I "get" math is NOT OKAY. ***Haves lived in Mission Hills in mansions, some with indoor pools. Have-lesses were me: I had everything any kid needs and wants--my own room, things I wanted for my bday gifts, never was hungry. We took vacations and had material things. But we were very much "wrong tracks" because we weren't society and didn't jet off to ski resorts and spas and Europe and live in mansions. Mr. Eldridge really catered to only the "haves" in an obvious way. As diversity and inclusion become fashionable topics of the day--too little, too late--I think it's important to note my experiences here, and I wish I had sooner. I'll forever be grateful to my parents that they gave me a choice about high school, and I was able to attend public school for "free" rather than the $5k annual tuition at the time for Barstow. Was public school perfect? Of course not, but for the thousands of dollars difference it was a no-brainer. And overall, the quality of teachers and administrators was actually better at public school. If parents are considering sending kids here, please observe very carefully and ask a lot of questions. If you're on the KS side, chances are still quite good that public school is better when weighing money, diversity, and quality of instruction/admin. Missouri? Possibly even the same.

I think what I like most about Barstow, having attended small schools nearly my entire educational…read morecareer, is its size. The students there are going to have grades with 30-50 kids, tops. One of the last junior classes I worked with had 40 students. As you are going to find at most elite private schools, there are a ton of students who love to learn and are dedicated to hard work. It doesn't hurt that it's a beautiful campus, conveniently located, with a good deal of tradition. Scott Hill, head counselor here, also happens to be awesome.